ABSTRACT
In this chapter the former military commander of the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front writes passionately about his experiences in Tigray and Ethiopia, and the Horn of Africa more generally with regard to the recurrence of famine as a humanitarian disaster. He argues that political, ethnic and cultural fault lines, together with drought and conflict, makes famine an ever-present danger that lies in wait even in the twenty-first century. In spite of the advancements of science and technology, particularly in food production and processing, famine and starvation have reached astounding heights. By famine, he is referring not to a brief deprivation of food or a casual hunger, but prolonged mass starvation, which takes the lives of millions of people in an agonizing manner—something that he has personally witnessed during the famines of 1973, 1974, 1983, 1984, 1985 in Ethiopia. He states that he has been in the middle of mass starvation and the politics of famine not only for one or two years but since the late 1950s for almost 60 years. He argues that some would rightfully characterize this phenomenon nowadays, as “genocide by starvation.”
The author notes that a number of factors such as climate change, civil war, insurgency, internal political or economic crises, uncalled-for external involvement, and other factors may play a role in the causation of the recurring famine in the Horn of Africa. Arguing that some factors may have more weight than others, identifying the decisive actors in the causation of this persistent problem is absolutely necessary for a lasting solution. He begins by asking questions such as: why is this scourge occurring thick and fast in this corner of the world when human beings elsewhere have developed the capacity to produce plenty or even a surplus of food and know no famine? Where exactly does the principal cause of the recurring famine in the Horn lie? Is famine really the fault of nature or man-made? If so who is responsible for the frequently arising devastation of human beings and their habitat? What is the way out of such a painful brunt? What role can the media play? Based on a number of studies conducted so far, and also from personal observations, this chapter addresses these crucial and related questions by way of identifying the root causes of the famine that still haunts the Horn, and in doing so, he attempts to clear a path for possible remedies.
